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“This is Akutagawa Ryuunosuke and his twin sister Gin. They will be our new friends starting today. Be sure to get along.”
Dazai introduced the two children who were clinging onto each other while half hiding behind Chuuya to avoid the numerous gazes focused on them. The red-haired teacher gently pushed them out of their hiding place and knelt behind them.
“I know that this is probably very overwhelming for you, but I’m sure you’ll get used to the others quickly. They are all very nice children.”
He patted their heads reassuringly and at least Akutagawa seemed to relax a little at this gesture. Dazai turned the other children’s attention on him.
“Give them a bit time to get used to everything, okay kids?”
“Yeeees!”
Some children kept shooting curious glances at their new playmates, but they quickly resumed what they were doing before the announcement. The only one who didn’t stop staring at them—specifically Akutagawa—was a white-haired boy.
“Who is that?” the black-haired newcomer asked Chuuya.
The teacher followed his gaze.
“Ah, that’s Atsushi. He has an ability, just like you do.”
“Why is he staring at me?”
The adult shrugged.
“I don’t know. You’d have to ask him yourself.”
Nodding, the small boy let go of his sister’s hand and walked towards the other. Chuuya observed the scene while Gin clung to him instead of her brother.
When Atsushi realized that the new one was coming for him, he jolted and quickly averted his gaze, grabbing whatever was nearest to him.
“Hey.”
The white-haired boy winced and anxiously looked up at the slightly smaller boy.
“You stared at me.”
“I’m sorry!!!”
Atsushi bowed so quickly that he slammed his head against the floor. Whimpering, tears gathered in his eyes as he pressed his hands against his throbbing forehead. Akutagawa sighed and patted the smaller one’s hair in a soothing manner.
“There, there.”
A pair of white, furry ears popped up amidst white hair at the gesture, leaving the newcomer staring in return.
“You’re a bear.”
The smaller one shook his head snuffling.
“I’m a tiger.”
“Can I touch?” Akutagawa asked, his hand already outstretched halfway.
After getting an affirming nod, he proceeded to investigate the ears; crawling and squishing them carefully.
“Does it hurt?”
“No,” the tiger-boy reassured him, his uncontrollable purring showing that it was the contrary.
With her curiosity getting the better of her, Gin let go of Chuuya and walked over to her brother, hesitantly extending her hand as well. Akutagawa nodded encouraging.
“Don’t worry. They are super fluffy.”
Atsushi pressed his head against Gin’s hand, making her jump at first, but the softness of his ears erased her uneasiness immediately. She beamed at her brother before playing around with the ears, a soft giggle escaping her when the fur tickled her palm.
“Do you only have ears?”
“No. The rest can become a tiger too, but…” he looked down at his hands and flexed the carefully, “it is hard to do it.”
“But that is exactly, what we are here for!”
Akutagawa looked up at the brown-haired adult who smiled at him. Dazai was his name if he remembered correctly.
“It is Chuuya’s and my job to teach you how to use and control your powers.”
“Do you have a power, too?”
The man nodded.
“I do. I can cancel the abilities of those I touch. So, if you can’t control your powers, then I can stop them for you.”
The child’s black eyes started sparkling like well-polished onyxes. He had always feared his power since it activated for the first time. Knowing that he had someone to stop it was extremely reassuring.
“And Chuuya?”
Dazai smiled excitedly.
“Oh, Chuuya has a power as well. He is a real magician!” He turned to the other adult. “Chuuya!!”
The redhead looked up from whatever he was doing in the other corner of the room.
“What?”
“Do you want to show us some magic tricks?”
The cheers of the other children answered Dazai’s question, before Chuuya could have a say in it. With a sighing smile, he walked to the middle of the room. The kids had already gathered into a circle around Dazai and the newcomers, swaying excitedly while waiting for the show to commence.
“Okay then,” Chuuya crouched down and made sure he had everyone’s attention before a wide grin spread over his face.
“I can read your thoughts.”
“No, you can’t!” a black-haired boy with a bored expression exclaimed.
“Sure I can, Ranpo. And I’ll prove it to you.”
The redhead looked around the group before locking eyes with the other adult. Dazai turned around, looking if Chuuya might mean someone other than him, then turned back with his eyes wide.
“Me?”
“Yes, you. I will now read your thoughts.”
“Oh no!” The brunet bent to Atsushi, whispering. “I hope he cannot see that I ate all his chocolate yesterday.”
The boy giggled. With a cough, the master magician turned the attention back to himself. He extended one hand towards Dazai, while pressing two fingers of the other against his sleeves. Then he closed his eyes.
“Everyone, silence! I need to concentrate.”
Silence filled the room as the children dared not to talk and tried not to think. A while later, the redhead opened his eyes again with a triumphant grin.
“I did it,” he explained, enjoying the look of terror on his partner’s face.
He pointed at him almost accusingly, exclaiming: “Your favorite food is chazuke. You like dogs and rabbits. Your favorite color is red.”
Fear was replaced by skepticism.
“That’s wrong. My favorite food is crab and I’m afraid of dogs.”
Ranpo laughed.
“I knew it.”
“Well, maybe someone,” Chuuya looked at everyone. “Couldn’t keep their thoughts to themselves and made me mix it up.”
Atsushi raised his hands apologizing.
“My favorite food is chazuke. I’m sorry…”
“And I like rabbits…” a small girl with two long, black braids added, clutching her rabbit plushie closer to her chest.
Chuuya sighed.
“Guess it can’t be changed. But luckily, that’s not the only thing I can do.”
He pulled out a card game.
“Another mind-reading trick? That’s boring!”
The red-haired adult glanced at his partner.
“Dazai?”
Latter one merely shrugged.
“I’m sorry, Chuuya. We don’t eat children even if they annoy you.”
The children—except for a pouting Ranpo—laughed.
“Too bad. Bud don’t worry, Ranpo. It’s not about mind-reading this time.”
He shuffled the game and held it between the palms of his hands before separating them slowly. The cards stuck to his hands until they were spread out so far that they floated in between, hanging in the air ‘magically’. Even Ranpo marveled at that.
“So, what do you say?” Chuuya asked.
“That’s so awesome!”
“Isn’t it? Come on, pick a card.”
He held the floating cards towards the kids in the first row, letting them pluck out some cards.
“Everyone got one? Great. Now let go of your cards.”
The children did as they were told, sparkling and making astonished sounds when the cards hovered in the air.
“How is he doing that?” Akutagawa wondered, his eyes opened wide.
“That’s his ability,” Dazai exclaimed smiling.
“Who wants to see more?” Chuuya asked, grinning as all the children asked for more.
He pulled the floating cards back towards him and drew a circle with his hand, making them float around him like rays of sun on a child’s painting. Then he reached behind his back and magically procured three ping-pong balls. He showed them to the children before letting them roll up his arms and circle around his body as if they were alive. One of the balls fell down his shoulder but stopped mid-air, flying back up and even higher than before until it was floating above the cards. The other balls followed, and the cards started to rotate. Cards and balls played together to form patterns, animals, objects and the children stared and giggled, exclaiming excitedly whenever they recognized one of the forms. The presentation ended with the cards forming a kind of floating stairway leading to the balls hovering in a straight line over Chuuya’s head.
The teacher bowed under storming applause when Dazai bent forward and touched his hair. As if bereft of their magic, the balls fell out of the air and plopped against the smaller adult’s head. He kept his bowing posture, not lifting his face from the ground.
“Dazai-san, you should run,” Atsushi advised.
“Should I?”
“You should.”
The air seemed to tremble when Chuuya spoke and Dazai’s face turned pale.
“Oh noes…”
Chuuya launched forward at Dazai, but the brunet quickly dodged, making the other teacher swirl through the air like a broken propeller. He stopped before slamming against the wall and got back on his feet. Holding a hand to his head, he took a few dizzy steps, before collapsing to the ground with an overly dramatic urgh…
Immediately, the kids gathered around him.
“Chuuya-san, are you okay??!”
He patted whichever two were closest to him with a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry, I’m alright.”
The collective mass of angels sighed relieved and Chuuya shot a warm smile at Dazai, when their show had once more paid off. He sat up and looked at the kiddies.
“Okay, who wants to fly as well?”
Touching all those who raised their hands, he activated his ability and made them float, looking out that they didn’t actually bump into things and hurt themselves. Then he looked at Akutagawa and Gin who seemed hesitant.
“Do you want to try, too? It can be a bit strange at first, but it’s fun actually.”
The black-haired boy nodded lightly while his sister decided that flying wasn’t her domain, running to Dazai instead. Chuuya took hold of Akutagawa’s hand and made him float, keeping the touch until the boy seemed to have adjusted to the new sensation a bit. He carefully let go, examining the other’s face to see if he was scared, but Akutagawa seemed to enjoy it.
Meanwhile, Gin pulled at Dazai’s trouser. Looking down and patting her head gently, the man flashed her a smile.
“What is it, Gin-chan?”
“What is your favorite color?”
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“My favorite color? Oh, you mean because of the magic trick from before?” A fond smile spread on his face. “My favorite color is blue. Just like the color of Chuuya’s eyes.”
Gin looked over at Chuuya who was surrounded by floating children and nodded eagerly.
“Alright then, guess it’s time for lunch.”
A firm hand pressed him down before Dazai had the chance to get up. How Chuuya had managed to guess his thoughts and come over in time would forever remain a mystery.
“It is, but you won’t put a foot in the kitchen.”
Dazai pouted.
“But Chuuya~~”
“No. Just no. You know what happens when you enter a kitchen.”
The floating kids gently got dropped to the ground (which they magically didn’t do when Chuuya had held Dazai down) as he disappeared into the kitchen.
When lunch was over, the teachers gathered the children and made them sit down on the ground, forming a circle.
“Now we’re going to meditate a bit,” Dazai exclaimed to the newbies. “This will help you get in touch with your ability. And you have nothing to worry about. Nothing can happen to you.”
Akutagawa nodded at his words, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness that crept up in him when he thought of that creepy mass that was glued to him. Dazai and Chuuya sat down behind the children, giving them a feeling of safety.
“Okay,” Chuuya’s deep, calming voice filled the room. “I want you all to close your eyes. Just close your eyes and listen to my voice. Take a deep breath. Good. Now exhale slowly, veery slow. Feel the air flow out of your lungs. Feel how the tension leaves your body. Relax.”
He onehandedly caught Kenji who had already fallen asleep.
“Keep your breath even and calm. Feel how your chest rises when you inhale, and how it flattens when you exhale.”
He gently lay the child on the ground before covering him with a blanket.
“Feel the air fill your whole body, all the way down to your toes. You can feel it, can’t you? The air in your lungs. The blood in your veins. Your heart beating steadily, strongly in your chest. Do you feel the warmth in your chest? Spreading through your body with every breath you take. Going all the way down to your fingertips and your toes. Then retreating to your chest as you exhale. Like waves swaying at the shore. Calmly. Steadily. Breathe in. Breathe out.”
Chuuya threw a plushie at his partner when latter pretended to fall asleep as well.
“That warm feeling is your ability. It is a part of you. Like your blood. Like your breath. Like your heartbeat. It belongs to you, and you alone. Feel its presence. Feel its warmth. It isn’t scary. It won’t hurt you. It won’t attack you. You will learn to control it with time. Just like you learned to walk. Like you learned to talk. Like you’re learning new skills every day. And one day, it will be just like breathing. It will come so naturally that you won’t even have to think about it anymore. Using your ability will be just like meditating. It will be warm. It will be calming.”
He looked at the children and noticed contentedly that most were already or almost sleeping. A light smile was on Akutagawa’s face. Some children couldn’t shake off their fear of their own ability the first few times they tried this exercise, but it seemed to have worked in his case.
“Feel the calmness it brings to you. Embrace it. Feel your body getting heavy, getting tired. Know that you are safe. Nothing can hurt you. Nothing will hurt you. Enjoy the warmth dwelling inside you and let it look after you. You are not alone.”
Soft snoring noises filled the room when Chuuya fell silent, and he brought the children to bed together with Dazai. After making sure everyone was sound asleep and covered properly, he stretched, feeling two arms sneak around him from behind.
“You’re getting better and better at this.”
He smiled and sunk into the embrace, felt Dazai’s heart beat against his back.
“Thanks. But I couldn’t have done it without you.”
A hot breath brushed his ear when Dazai let out a silent chuckle.
“It’s been a pleasure to teach you. And you know what?” The brunet gently nudged Chuuya’s cheek with his nose. “It made me really happy to see how much you trusted me.”
A few days went by, and Akutagawa and Gin quickly found a connection to the group. Akutagawa had grown especially fond of Atsushi, and they spent almost every minute together.
“Say, Ryuu,” the tiger-boy said while drawing, “why is the end of your hair white?”
The black-haired boy examined the tips of his hair.
“I don’t know. It was always like this.”
“Hm…”
Atsushi thoughtfully looked at the black marker in his hand. He jumped up when he got an idea and ran over to Dazai, before disappearing with the teacher. Akutagawa looked after them with a questioning frown.
A while later, the smaller boy returned and happily sat down in front of his best friend.
“Look, now my hair is black and white too!”
He proudly showed the black strand that shimmered through his white hair.
“We match!” Akutagawa noticed excitedly.
“Are you stupid?!” Everyone looked at Chuuya who apparently had just hit Dazai with a rolled newspaper. “You can’t just dye his hair!”
“Don’t worry, it’s just a marker.” Dazai rubbed his head. “It will disappear with a bit of shampoo.”
“That’s not the point! How will we explain it to his parents?!”
Atsushi pulled at Chuuya’s hand.
“I will tell my parents that it was my idea.”
Calming down immediately, Chuuya knelt in front of the boy and patted his hair.
“Thank you, Atsushi, that’s very kind. But Dazai is the adult so it is his responsibility not to do stupid things.”
“I just wanted to match with Ryuu… Is it that bad…?”
Chuuya melted at the boy’s puppy eyes.
“No, that’s a very cute idea. But you should have asked your parent’s permission first. It is not good to decide these things behind their back.”
“So, it is okay if they don’t mind?”
The redhead nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Great! I’ll just show them how cool we look together! I’m sure they’ll understand!”
“Definitely,” Dazai affirmed, getting an annoyed look from Chuuya in return.
“Yay!”
Atsushi’s delight got crushed when Akutagawa suddenly got a terrible coughing fit.
“Ryuu, are you okay?!”
He rushed to his side and held his hand worriedly.
“I’m okay… Jinko…”
His coughing didn’t make his words credible at all. Dazai came over as well, soothingly stroking the boy’s back until he could breathe normally again. He then handed him a glass of water and some medicine.
“Is he sick?” Atsushi asked while Akutagawa drank the medicine.
“His parents said that he fell ill, but it isn’t contagious, and it will pass with time.”
Tears of relief gathered in the white-haired boy’s eyes.
“That’s good…”
He looked up when Akutagawa pressed his hand and met a warm smile.
“I’m okay.”
The taller boy almost sounded like a surprised squirrel, when Atsushi threw his arms around him.
“I’m so glad! I was so worried! I really, really like Ryuu. A lot. So…”
Akutagawa placed his arms around his back.
“I like you a lot too, Jinko.”
“Will you marry??” Naomi asked with wide, sparkling eyes.
The boys looked at each other before nodding determined.
“We will marry.”
Dazai smiled.
“But you have to be grown-up before you can marry someone.”
“Eeeeh, but why??”
Atsushi pouted.
“It doesn’t matter,” the black-haired boy exclaimed. “I will marry Jinko when I’m all grown-up!”
“Me too!” Atsushi agreed.
“That sounds great. But before you get all grown-up and marry, you’ll first go to sleep. It’s time for the afternoon nap.”
“Alright.”
The two adults put everyone to bed after their usual meditation.
“What do you say?” Chuuya asked, watching Atsushi and Akutagawa sleep next to each other with a smile.
“I hope they’ll invite us if they do marry in the future.”
“They’re so cute.”
“Say Chuuya~”
“Hm?” Chuuya looked up when Dazai pulled him into his arms.
“When will we marry~?”
He placed his arms around the taller one’s neck, his lips curling into a teasing smile.
“You have yet to propose to me~”
The brunet’s eyes widened slightly.
“I thought you would be the one doing the proposal?”
“Maybe you should stop thinking so much.”
A soft whimper interrupted their flirting. They turned around and found Akutagawa trembling in his sleep, a black mass emerging from his back like a monstrous shadow.
Dazai made a move to cancel his ability but Chuuya held him back. He shook his head at the other’s questioning gaze and pointed at Atsushi who had woken up from his quasi-fiancé’s trembling. He reached for the mass and pulled it into his arms, stroking it softly like a doll or a little pet. The shadow softened and changed its form until it looked less like a monster and more like some kind of a snake shaped toy. Akutagawa relaxed again and Atsushi snuggled up to him, locking his fingers with the other’s. The shadow rolled up like a cat between them.
Chuuya leaned against the other smiling.
“Maybe they really are destined for each other.”
Dazai rested his head on his partner’s shoulder.
“Their abilities work well together, at least.”
They watched the children hold hands while sleeping soundly, while Atsushi’s tiger tail wrapped around a cute miniature form of Rashomon.